Walmart agrees to $100M settlement over Spark driver pay

Individuals who worked as a Walmart Spark driver in the United States and have lost earnings due to misleading pay, tip or incentive representations may qualify to receive a portion of a settlement.

Walmart Inc. agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations brought by the Federal Trade Commission and 11 states. The lawsuit claimed Walmart deceived Spark delivery drivers about their base pay, incentive pay and tips.

The FTC complaint claimed Walmart engaged in the following:

• Deceiving drivers about tip amount: Walmart allegedly did not notify drivers that customers did not preauthorize the advertised tip amount and that drivers would not receive that amount if the customer did not cover the cost of the tip or if the charge did not go through.
• Not informing drivers about split tips: Walmart allegedly did not inform drivers that it would split tips when it split a customer’s delivery across multiple drivers.
• Deceiving drivers about base pay and tip amounts when Walmart modifies “batched” offers: Walmart allegedly did not inform drivers that it would reduce their base pay and/or tips when it removed orders from “batched orders,” which involve delivering goods to multiple customers during one trip.
• Misrepresenting incentive pay drivers can earn: Walmart allegedly did not disclose all the requirements drivers must meet to earn incentive pay for completing certain tasks.
• Deceiving customers that the driver received 100% of tips: On multiple occasions, Walmart allegedly did not provide collected tips to drivers as promised and did not refund the tip to customers.

Who qualifies to receive a Walmart payout?

Spark drivers must meet the following criteria:

• They worked as a Walmart Spark driver in the United States, the District of Columbia or U.S. territories.
• They accepted one or more offers to shop for and/or deliver goods through the Spark driver app between Jan. 1, 2021, and Feb. 26, 2026.
• Walmart showed them base pay, tip or incentive amounts in the Spark driver app but did not pay them as advertised. This includes:
• Incentive payments that the driver did not receive
• Tips that Walmart reduced or did not pay as shown in the initial offer card
• Base payments or tips that Walmart reduced for an unclear reason after the driver accepted a delivery offer

How much will the Walmart driver settlement payments be?

Cash payment: According to the settlement agreement, Walmart will establish a $16,175,302 settlement fund for impacted drivers. The settlement administrator will determine payment amounts using driver earnings, tips and unpaid incentives that did not match the initial offer card.

Award calculation examples

• If Walmart showed a driver a $10 tip on the initial offer card but they only received $7, they may be eligible for a $3 payment.
• If Walmart promised a driver a $50 referral incentive but they did not receive it, they may be eligible for the full $50.

No claim form required

Drivers do not need to submit a claim form to receive a payment.

According to reports, Walmart issued some payments directly to impacted drivers. The FTC will issue additional driver payments from the established settlement fund.

$100 million Walmart settlement fund

The $100,000,000 settlement fund includes:

• Driver fund: $16,175,302 for direct payments to drivers
• FTC payment: $10,000,000
• Suspended judgment: $62,824,698 (subject to verification of payments Walmart already made to drivers)
• Payments to states: $11,000,000 divided among Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin

Why is there a Walmart driver settlement?

The FTC and 11 states alleged Walmart misled Spark Driver delivery workers about the amount of base pay, incentive pay and tips they would receive. The FTC alleged that these practices violated the FTC Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, as well as certain state consumer protection laws.

Walmart denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation. In addition to the settlement fund, Walmart is required to implement a driver earnings verification program, can no longer modify driver base pay or tip after the initial offer in most circumstances and is banned from misrepresenting earnings offered to drivers.

Sources

1. FTC press release
2. Stipulated order